If a child were to appear at your door – cold, scared, and
tired from a long journey…
If he or she were anxious, heartbroken, raging, and
confused…
Would you refuse entry to the little one? Would you first
demand that his fear dissolve, her anxiety be healed, his confusion clarify, or
her heart be mended?
In your most authoritative spiritual voice, would you urge
the little one to first "get over it,” to accept everything the way it is,
to urgently forgive those who have harmed him, to fall into the bliss of the
moment, or to drop into the state of no-self?
Or would you provide sanctuary and safe passage from a long
journey? A warm home in which the stories, the emotions, and the sensations of
the little one can unfold, be illuminated, and be metabolized into the tender
space of wholeness?
As Rumi reminds us, “Look as long as you can at the friend
you love, no matter whether that friend is moving away or coming toward you.”
The friend is always appearing, in both obvious and disguised forms, as the
others in your life as well as the unmet ‘inner other’ of your heart.
My new book – The Path Is Everywhere: Uncovering the Jewels Hidden Within You – is now available
The next event, The Magic of Being Fully Human, to be held in Ojai, CA on October 14-15.
